Category: Service Vacations

hey all,

hopefully this message will show up on the blog without a problem. there is so much to describe that it is impossible to include everything. first off, i am doing fine. i have been able to make many of the little adjustments that i need to in order to function out here. i am sure i will be repeating some of the things that others have described, but you’ll just have to deal ;-).

there are 16 or so of us here, working with the folks at manav sadhna (spell check?). let me tell you, these guys are wonderful. the things that they do for the people here and not to mention for us btc’ers is amazing. this is unlike any other trip which i have taken. normally i get to visit another country and learn a little about how it operates, how the people are, etc. but on this trip, we really get to see into the hearts of the people, and there is nothing but pure love.

a few tidbits of my experiences:

yesterday, we spent the day at a blind school for kids. i have never spent time with blind people, so this was my first experience. i know that a lot of people with special needs just want to be treated normally, but the funny thing is that i did just see them as normal. these were normal kids who liked to play and sing and talk and hang out. they all had smiles on their faces and did all of the same thing other kids do. by the end of the day, it didn’t make a difference. in fact, these kids have adapted so well that they can play cricket!

the thing that i have learned the most about india is how wonderful the people are. we have had people welcome us into their homes, essentially complete strangers, and let us stay overnight while they also fed us. it is impossible to repay the kindness that we have encountered. but we try. the whole concept behind Be The Cause and manav sadhna is about the cycle of giving that is created by a single kind act.

and i have seen its power. we walked around, handing out little cards with simple messages to “smile”, or “be the change”, etc. one night. people first met us with a bit of suspicion, trying to figure out what we were selling. but when they realized our message was simply one of kindness, we were met with smiles. one person even returned our card with his own positive message written on the back: “there is never a wrong time to do the right thing”.

never mind that there may be poverty here. the happiness and love in this country is simply overwhelming. i hope to take back a little bit of it to the states and plant the seeds there. it will be hard, but making one small difference will be worth it.

sorry for the rambling, but i think it will stay like that ;-). ok, let’s see if this one will post. then i’ll try another.

albert

16 of us from Be the Cause are currently in Ahmedabad. Today we were in Ramapir No Takro Slum. This slum has over 150, 000 people living in the at most poorest conditions imaginable to mankind. The people there are of course much wealthier then we can imagine. Such beauty, kindness, compassion and love is what is felt when walking through.

Today a few of us from the group walked into the slum and picked up paper and plastic items.This of course encouraged the people in the slum to also pick up and clean their community. While walking through the slum, children and their families ran up to us, and helped us with picking up. A few of us were told from a Manav Sadhna volunteer that we were an example to the community because of our eagerness and dedication in cleaning up their home.

Manav Sadhna has a non traditional educational setting in the slum. They educate the childern and provide nutritious meals, as well as many other things…such as bathing the children which is what we did for this project. While bathing the children, we felt as if we were cleaning our own souls. The experience of seeing the children before and after their baths was astonishing…to see the happiness from the children from also getting their finger nails clipped, hair washed and combed, and lotion applied…was probably the biggest gift we ever could give them…and maybe the biggest gift we could give ourselves.

Another activity that was beneficial for both Manav Sadhna, the slum, and ourselves had to do with building the community center. We had a small part today in helping building this community center…by passing bowls full of bricks to each other, while standing in an assembly line of sorts. It felt like each brick that will be placed…represents a part of each one of us…because we were feeling such love and compassion, and inspiration…

Gianna and Kristeen